Convenience Big Store: How the Texas Lottery Commission helped rich investors stack the odds

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Best of the Bayou

Texas Lottery tickets were photographed in studio to represent a story about a scheme to play every possible combination of numbers eventually leading to a winning ticket on April 26, 2024.

Photo by: Christopher Lee / Staff photograph

Today we're talking about how the Texas Lottery Commission helped rich investors stack the odds..

If you read one thing: The Texas Lottery Commission actively helped orchestrate a sure-thing Lotto Texas win for rich investors, seemingly ignoring its own rules.

How did someone stack the odds?

In the days leading up to the April 22, 2023 draw, instead of the typical 1-2 million tickets Lotto Texas games sell, it sold more than 28 million. Yet the agency did more than merely observe as one buyer effectively stacked the odds of securing the jackpot, records show.

While purchasing an entire lottery draw is not illegal in Texas — although some experts argue it should be as unfair to regular players, who don't know they are at best competing for half the advertised jackpot. There also is no law preventing licensed retailers from selling tickets to someone aiming to accomplish that.

Texas's hands-off regulation makes it easier for a big buyer to work the odds on such operations. But the lottery commission's actions in last year's $95 million game also raise questions about the rigor of its oversight, as well as its commitment to fairness and transparency over profits.

Has this happened before?

No one tracks how often sophisticated investor groups target lottery draws. But a handful of such events have become publicly known.

In February 1992, a buying group targeted the Virginia lottery, which because of the few numbers used in its draws made it relatively inexpensive to buy up all combinations. At the time, the state also allowed players to select numbers and print their own tickets at home. A subsequent investigation into the operation found no wrongdoing.

In 2005, a small number of math-minded Massachusetts lottery players discovered a lucrative opening in a "roll-down" game they exploited for years. When the jackpot for CashWinFall reached $2 million, the money cascaded to lower-tier prize winners, making bulk ticket purchases near-certain winners. Until the game was shut down in 2012, in-the-know groups collected millions of dollars in wins.

Read Eric Dexheimer's full story here.

More on how a pop-up ticket vendor aided in a surefire Texas lotto win.

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Have a good week!

— Lauren Mitchell